Over 500 attended Northwestern Legal Services' Reception on May 7th, 5:30 PM at the Federal Courthouse in Erie honoring the mission of access to justice and the 38 original incorporators of NWLS.

In 1969, 36 attorneys from the Erie County Bar Association came together with a vision of providing free legal help in civil cases to people who could not afford to hire an attorney. Northwestern Legal Services, and access to justice, is their legacy.

As part of the celebration, NWLS produced a commemorative video of 38 original incorporators and overview of how NWLS first began.

The Keynote Speaker for the event was Charles J. Olgetree, Jr., Harvard Law School Professor, Jesse Climenko Professor of Law, and Founder and Director of the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice. Professor Olgetree is a prominent legal theorist who has earned an international reputation by taking a hard look at complex issues of law and by working to secure the rights guaranteed by the Constitution for everyone equally under the law.

NWLS 40th Anniversary Home Page
NWLS 40th Anniversary Commemorative Video